Progress report for
Improving coastal and marine environment with a Zero Pollution Action Plan
Achievement at a glance
The actions set out in the Zero Pollution Action Plan (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52021DC0400&from=EN) are mostly completed with a total delivery rate of around 90%. All legislative proposals have been adopted except for the one on water pollutants which is still negotiated between the European Parliament and the Council. Soon, the EU will also publish the evaluation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the Bathing Water Directive which are of relevance particularly in this context. For details, please consult the zero pollution action tracker: Zero Pollution Stakeholder Platform - Actions (https://environment.ec.europa.eu/strategy/zero-pollution-stakeholder-platform/actions_en)The progress on implementing the Zero Pollution Action Plan was summarised in the Commission Report (COM(2022) 674 (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2022:674:FIN)) and supporting documents of the EEA and the JRC. This Zero Pollution Monitoring and Outlook is currently being updated and will be published in early 2025. The detailed information per target is available here: EU Zero pollution targets (https://environment.ec.europa.eu/strategy/zero-pollution-action-plan/zero-pollution-targets_en). In summary, the progress is mixed with some encouraging reduction on air pollution and beach litter also in coastal areas.
Challenges faced in implementation
Data availability and comparability.Next Steps
Benedicte CaremierBeneficiaries
The European Union’s population at large (and population of neighboring countries), including EU citizens inhabiting coastal zones and working at sea or using the marine environment for leisure, sport or cultural purposes.
Actions
As stated above, the Zero Pollution Action Plan of the EU aims to substantially decrease pollution in the wider sense, along the 9 flagships and 33 actions listed therein and the current delivery rate (end 2024) is around 90%.The next Zero Pollution Monitoring and Outlook published in early 2025 will provide updated information on the results achieved and on their benefits. The current report is available there: https://environment.ec.europa.eu/strategy/zero-pollution-action-plan/zero-pollution-targets_en